SNAP Benefits from Local Bowls

A warm and artistic display of beautiful bowls made by Emmet Leader, a local potter, was an eye-
catching highlight to the Tuesday Market for four weeks. Between September 19th and October 10th, Emmet sold his homemade bowls to support our SNAP Matching Program. His bowls were made from local clay that was dug during the construction of the Northampton Police Department building. He donated 100% of his sales to our SNAP matching funds and raised over $3000!

“My hope for this project is that the bowls will help inspire a long-term conversation and awareness about where we live, the food we eat, and who gets to eat it. And in the short term to raise a significant amount for the SNAP Matching Program so that even more people can access the food from Tuesday Market!”

Emmett Leader making the bowls at Tuesday Market

The SNAP Matching Program provides a dollar-for-dollar match on SNAP spending at Tuesday Market, and has been available at market for many years. Although the new statewide Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) now provides a new matching opportunity for fresh fruits and vegetables at Tuesday Market (read more in this post), our match of $10/week in the early season and $5/week after HIP became available during the summer helped families participate all season long, and incentivizes SNAP purchases of other local products like meat, dairy, honey, and maple syrup. Grow Food Northampton funded over $8,000 in dollar–to- dollar matching at Tuesday Market this year.

Emmett’s project was incredibly valuable for the SNAP Matching Program and allows us to continue to provide this service that helps break down barriers that low-income individuals face when trying access to fresh, local, and healthy foods. To learn more, check out the great article wrote by the The Daily Hampshire Gazette about Emmett’s project.